


The Conspiracy

by PlainOlWriter



Category: Bodyguard (TV 2018)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Major character non-death, Overthinking S1, au-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:22:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlainOlWriter/pseuds/PlainOlWriter
Summary: What if David's time in the army led him to be suspicious of those around him? Thus, he slowly uncovers everything.AU-ish from Episode 3.His divorce proceedings are already underway behind the scenes.
Relationships: David Budd/Julia Montague
Comments: 15
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

_Episode 1_

* * *

His boss was too happy during their meeting.

It gave him the chills. The woman actually smiled after assigning him to a cabinet minister. A Tory for that fact.

The Home Secretary, Julia Montague.

His quick google search was... interesting. Her pictures were all great and she looked well. Her voting record spoke to him. He was sure to clash with her at some point in their daily interaction.

_Is there a purpose for this?_ he thought.

Maybe he was just paranoid from all the scheming they did in the army but then again, she was creeping him out and that was a statement. There wasn't much that you could be scared of once you come home from the arid desert. Of course, because nothing is worse than being in the business end of guns and bombs.

Hopefully, they could get along despite her voting record. In the end, he was supposed to protect her.

* * *

Rob MacDonald was an insecure cad.

He honestly thought that David belonged to the cover of a GQ magazine not protect a member of parliament. Was he also really from the military?

The moment he opened the door into Julia's flat all his confidence disappeared into the air. The PPO's suit enhancing every detail of his lean form.

David gazed at the man before deeming him harmless.

Rob seemed so jittery and sometimes fumbled on his words. He was trying too hard for something was it her affections or for something else?

Whatever it was he didn't know.

He also made inappropriate innuendos to her and that made him angry. Could he not feel that she wasn't remotely interested in him?

He'd act on him if he was a threat and that was a promise.

His shirt was a perfect fit and it smelled like him.

That's what she thought as she wore it during her interview. His presence was currently a calming constant in her life amidst all the chaos.

It was comforting and it has been a long time since she felt so.

* * *

She loved how he placated her ex-husband outside the chambers.

The scandalized look he gave and the move to get his phone made her grin. There wasn't a lot of people who had the guts to stand up to him.

It just added her growing admiration to him.

* * *

He had his shirt laundered and now, it smelled like her.

Lavender.

Her code name.

If he was alone, he probably would have reveled on the smell like a horny teenage boy but they weren't and they were in her flat making polite conversation about personal topics.

"I sought out a role in which I could make a real difference," sounding so genuine as she explained the answer to his question,

Though, he shouldn't have asked the last question before he left. It was a sensitive topic to him and yet he still did. She did give him the courtesy of an answer.

Even though it wasn't one he was satisfied with.

* * *

It was presumptuous.

That's what he thought as he sat inside his flat when she informed him that the male first of October attacker was being charged yet not his wife and that they had some sexist politicians. Everyone was and should be a suspect especially in cases like these. He knew it far too well. Ten years in the army, covert ops, and classified missions did that to him.

Be suspicious of the institution and people he was supposed to protect but then...

Nadia Ali.

Maybe she froze because she did not expect her husband to be there. Her husband panicking could be a sign that she wasn't supposed to do what she was about to and that she isn't saying anything, pin it to her husband, because that's how she wanted the situation to be interpreted?

There's also the matter of the bomb. It's level of sophistication. There weren't a lot of organizations that could provide for such a thing it was either organized crime or terrorist groups that supplied it. It could have been given to her because the men didn't want to do the job and so she did, supposedly, under their radar.

It could be. It was possible.

It wasn't always the male that is the culprit. However, it seems that most of the time they are. There are and could be female members of terrorist groups. No matter how some think that the idea is far fetched.

He couldn't help it, though, there was something different about them. He'll conduct his own investigation if need be under the blanket of darkness.

After all, women are just as powerful as men.

* * *

_"This is not normal."_

Vicky said the other night and he knew she was right even if they were getting divorced. He really needed a counsellor and to stop drinking.

He removes every ounce of alcohol in his flat. His head needed to be at the right place. His senses were going overload. It was either his anxiety or PTSD.

The warning bells inside his head rang after seeing a missed call from a close friend from high school, currently a reporter at Whitehall.

They didn't call much but they kept in touch.

Hannah Walker.

A spare hour came before he started work and he met her at a café. She was sitting near the window, coffee in front for both of them and her messenger bag underneath the table.

"I'm sorry I missed your call yesterday." his lip twitches a bit to show some remorse, "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"You told me you are at specialist protection, right?" she asks him. No segue at all.

"Yes, is there a problem?" he asks coolly,

He did not need friends judging his career choices.

"I just had Chanel Dyson, where you're sitting right now, yesterday." she quickly rambles off in stress, "she just got fired and shot me up for a story but then you know my bosses."

"Yes, they don't like those types of stories." he nods subtly, "what did she say?"

"Her previous boss, the Home Secretary was a sociopath," she tells him, "that she was to destroy peace and such."

"I hope you didn't entertain it," he comments and she immediately replies, "No! It was honestly stupid."

He remembers the way Chanel uttered: _Fuck._

It wasn't something you'd normally say if they were screening applicants for your position. No, you'd tell them why you're the best and what you contribute. Though, she did tell that in a loud unprofessional way.

The way she uttered the word was as if she was annoyed and lost something as she lost the job.

Chanel Dyson.

That's another one to his list. Luckily, he noted the plate of the Range Rover that picked her up from the Home Office.

"Thanks for treating me to coffee. It has been a while." he finishes his drink and says, "I have to run. You keep safe. 'Kay, Han?"

"Yeah, Dave, you too." she gives him a half-hug and kids, "Even though your job puts you in the line of fire every day."

"I'll try my best."

He gives her a small smile and she knew he would from the small gesture.

* * *

The man who drove Chanel Dyson from the Home Office and coffee shop was at Andy's group.

He felt like it was a sign to act. It couldn't be a coincidence or could it?

The time to put up a person of interest board in his apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are more edits here to the original episodes.

Episode 2

* * *

He was wrong.

He admits to himself after dismissing his son like that before school then receiving that call from Vicky just confirmed his incompetence in being a good father. His son was being bullied for not being able to read as one normal child could and he hated it.

He'll need to talk to the headmaster after working hours about it. Especially since the special school best for his sons' needs said it'll at least be a year before he gets enrolled.

He apologizes to the Home Secretary for that personal conversation in the car but it felt like he was compensating for what he was supposed to be saying to Charlie.

He'll need to talk to him later.

* * *

Of course, it was going to be David.

In her opinion, everything seems to be connected to him for these recent days. It may be a coincidence but as she thought about it. None of the two possibilities Stephen gave her made sense except one thing.

It could be a plan for revenge.

They had enough reason to plot against him considering he foiled the bombing on the first of October. If the terrorist was using that supposed bombing to escalate then he could be in danger.

Who, though, knew of his kids? It was a known fact that security was tight in circles like theirs considering they handle most confidential affairs and people knew the consequences were severe.

It was baffling and she couldn't do anything about it or they'd know she formed an attachment to the man just days after being assigned to her.

Stephen leaves her office after clearing everything with her and she takes a moment to compose herself.

It's showtime.

* * *

The first person to arrive from outside the office for the meeting was Mike Travis, the Minister of State for Counter-Terrorism. The man seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders but sometimes he seemed like a puppet.

Tahir Mahmood, the new PR aide was waiting outside her office beside one of the Home Secretary's assistants.

Anne Sampson, Commander of NPS Counter-Terrorism Branch, arrived with other officials of names he could not recall as MacDonald came into view approaching Tahir.

He really didn't like Rob MacDonald. 

There were times David wondered how the man attained the position he had now. How he thought that she should defend the policy was beside himself because not only would it validate the criticism. It would also imply that there is going to be something that they don't want along with it.

Tahir, however, was different. In a good way.

It was refreshing to see MacDonald placated despite that he was Tahir's superior.

He gazes still at the room as they talk about whatever threats there are in the country.

* * *

They didn't have answers for 1/10.

He calls Vicky hoping to catch his children awake and hopefully apologize to Charlie but seeing as Vicky told him not to mention school that was out of the question. The pair of sweet voices fill his ears as they say goodnight to him before Vicky's voice came back.

They discuss seeing a doctor for Charlie. Isn't there someone who would know about his son's condition? Vicky makes her frustrations known as he tells her goodnight and she hangs upon him.

It was time to print some pictures and draw up information but first, he needed to make a call. He looks at the walls of his grey flat before dialing a number he knew too well.

"Hiya, mate, listen..."

The two chat until it was midnight planning where, when to meet, and why does it have to be in person before hanging up.

* * *

He meets with his mate three hours before work started at a secluded restaurant in the East End. The sun wasn't even up yet and he knew it could be a long conversation considering he needed to explain himself; what his suspicions were. People just don't go for gut instincts these days.

"Dave! It's good to see you, mate!" a man in his mid-thirties with red hair and bright green eyes greeted him enthusiastically,

"Pat! Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," he shakes his hand back and notices the woman beside him, "This is Angela, she's a forensic artist,"

"Good to meet you. You'll be drawing the person I saw?" he asks as he shakes her hand,

"Yes then hopefully we can get an ID from that," she answers with a smile as they sit in a secluded box on the corner of the restaurant, "I'll also print out the people you wanted to investigate that is if you don't want them finding a trail back to you,"

"That's not bad, thank you," he says as a waiter approaches to give them a menu,

"Now, will you tell me what's going on?" Pat asks as he accepts a menu,

"I will if you swear not to blab a word of this to anybody but us here," David warns as Angela gets her sketchbook out of her bag,

"Of course,"

* * *

_Shit._

Julia cursed as Mike reported the school's name to her. It was the school where David's children attend. She denied knowing the school hopeful that they heard her swear because it was a children's school and who would want to hurt such angels but Mike noticed her prior knowledge to it.

_Fortunately, no casualties amongst the pupils and staff._

That's what mattered to her even if it was hard not to do so much without giving herself away.

* * *

_Skipper, it's just come up on the box. An IED took out a MASTS Team and an ARV in Camberwell._

"Jesus," he swore under his breath as Kim informed him of the situation.

In the corner of his eye, he sees her move from her table to the door. He quickly moves ahead of her as she approaches and asks him if he has heard of it. He confirms and conveys her sympathies to the officers' families.

"It happened near your children's school," she told him in the strictest confidence and adds, "none of the pupils were hurt but you should call your wife and kids."

"Thank you very much, ma'am."

* * *

His family was placed in a safe house. The worst of it all, however, was being moved to desk duty.

Fuck.

On the upside, it gives him time to investigate the plate of the Range Rover that Chanel Dyson was seen in twice. It could lead up to someone that was suspicious. Dyson did say that she wasn't getting paid much by the Office, so how could she afford such a car unless it was somebody else's?

He comes home to see two bright spots on a difficult day.

His children. Charlie in an onesie is especially adorable.

"Mum and Dad are just gonna have a chat next door, okay?" Vicky tells them and they disperse,

He goes to the kitchen and looks for a beer before returning it back in the fridge as Vicky tells him of the day's events and how it could relate to the train attack. He unintentionally bites back a mean remark and she tells him how it could've been his children.

He knew that he wasn't stupid and the chances of a threat being present was still high. He wouldn't leave them like that even if he did or did not know it.

Vicky walks out of the mini-kitchen and leaves him there.

The hours pass but he couldn't sleep not after that enlightening conversation with Pat and Angela.

His boss, Lorraine Craddock, first started at the National Crime Agency slowly moving up their ranks before transferring to Specialist Protection at the Metropolitan Police. Aqib and Nadia Ali did have ties to an organized crime group. Though he was told that finding out which group it was, was going to take longer. Angela found out, by nearly breaking British laws, that Chanel Dyson has been caught on camera with the man he saw quite a few times in a rather questionable location. Now, she was searching for his name in different databases.

He could find more information on his desk tomorrow but for now, he needed to call his therapist.

* * *

_LTI7KVC_

He entered it into the database once Kim left him at the office.

The plate was connected to a company he wasn't familiar with but took note on the paper. He was meeting with Angela and Pat for lunch. This could be a lead of some sort that could point to the direction of who was behind these threats to London.

He first met with Andy at their usual hole in the wall bar but not before leaving his station clean at the office. He was flying under the radar so it was best that they couldn't find anything. The short meetup felt odd for some reason and as he made his way to the restaurant to meet Pat, his gut told him something was wrong with his friend.

"Dave, how's our thing going on?" Pat asks as they sit in another obscure restaurant somewhere in the bowels of London,

"Craddock reassigned me to desk duty," he explains as Angela sat beside his friend, "That sounds bad,"

"It is." he briefly replies as the woman pulls out a file,

"Your boss, Craddock, did some shady shit in the past, mate," Pat says as he glances over the files that contained compromising information of his superior.

_Firearm smuggling. Information leaks._

"I need you to add one more person to the list," he tells them,

"Who is it?"

"Andrew Apsted,"

* * *

There were times that Julia Montague thought that men were stupid.

One of those times was now.

The one officer that successfully averted an attack was one they wanted to remove from her protection team. It sends a wrong message and reassigning him doesn't make her any less of a target.

Mike tries to talk her out of giving the Security Service more power but she stands firm about it. Luckily, he knew when to stand down and these were one of those times.

At that exact moment, what she didn't know was David standing in front of the door of the occupational health office for counselling.

"I'm David, and I uh... need some help."

* * *

_"It's good to have you back, PS Budd."_

That's when he knew she pulled a lot of strings, not only for him but his family and he couldn't have been more thankful.

"Thank you, ma'am," he replies, truly thankful for what she did.

He greets Kim as she goes to the car and they drive to the restaurant she was going to for the evening.

He thought that he and Kim stuck out like a sore thumb in the restaurant that was dimly lit despite being in the corner of the room.

It was also agonizing to watch her seated at the table in front of her slimy aide. They're offered a menu but he politely declines. They were there to watch her not eat.

She gives them a subtle nod and they stand quickly to follow. Kim informs her detail as they go down the steps and she asks.

"Do you mind if we stopped on the way home, David?"

He liked the sound of his name on her lips and it made his heart soar.

"Certainly."

* * *

"You're pleased my night out was an unmitigated disaster?" she quips and he almost grins,

"No," _Yes._ he thought and explains, "It's just that there are risks with being seen out in public."

She makes a statement about how he was smug married and his lips twitch to the side.

"We're separated," _Nearly divorced just waiting for the papers._ and she hums.

He was surprised she offered a bit of her previous personal life with him as they shared the meal. He explains that they're trying to put the kids first, but what she didn't know was, the kids knew Daddy and Mummy were separating. They explained the idea long before and it took some work but the pair understood.

She offers him a cuppa after he thanked her for her intervention but he offered to make it with a statement about kettles in untrained hands. He gives a small smile and walks away. Julia nearly blushed for the first time in years watching his fine piece of ass walk its' way into her kitchen but she restrains herself.

_He's your bodyguard. It's going to be too complicated._ she thought as the man waited for the kettle to boil in the kitchen.

* * *

He watches the press prey on them like vultures before the hours' pass and they're back on route to the Home Office.

She makes small talk and he hopes that she answers his question.

_"How'd you know the name of my kids' school?"_

Julia tries to avoid answering the question but shouldn't he know by now? Considering she did pull the strings to get his son into the school he needed to get into. She answers his question scathingly and she could feel the burn of his gaze from the rearview mirror.

"David, let's not..."

A swift shot was fired interrupting her then another one. He tells her to get down and she does then the third shot arrives.

Terry's blood painting her, David, and the car red.

The car swerves colliding with another parked one and they get under to be protected by the bulletproof casing as the shooter takes his shots.

David breathes heavily before counting... _One... Two... Three... Four..._

Her screams brought him back as the shooter continues to fire on their car. He brings his coat up to report to Control as Julia removes her seatbelt and sits on the floor of the car clinging to his seat for dear life.

He tries to reassure her as the shooter continues to rain fire on the vehicle. He holds her hand amidst the blood and panicked breathing.

From there they connected and she could breathe a little easier.

* * *

It was Andy.

What the fuck? What has his mate gotten into?

Andrew Apsted never expected to be face to face with his friend after shooting the Home Secretary's vehicle. He knew that David wasn't supposed to be his PPO but that obviously changed.

_"Someone's got to stop her get it done."_

Never. It was his job to protect her, he thought.

He hides his unregistered pistol at the wall before he's interrupted by her name flashing on his phone screen.

_Lavender_

* * *

He arrives at the suite and tries to reassure her. She looks shaken. No.

_Traumatized_ was the right word. She was not okay.

Her hands shake as she tries to arrange the service tray for her. He keeps his distance as she anxiously moves the glass and stops her from doing so.

_"I'm not the Queen. You're allowed to touch me,"_ she nearly breaks,

His scent of sweet soft vanilla and coconut engulfs her as she leaned onto him for comfort. He knew it was wrong for him to do this but his mind kept arguing with him that he was off duty and that she was his principal but he had never seen her walls so down before.

He allows himself to embrace her tightly and she stops shaking, feeling safe in his arms. She snuggles into his face and feels his hot breath against hers. Her desire for him making itself known as she slowly places her lips in front of his.

She kisses him softly feeling tears form in her eyes and he relents.

* * *

_How could something so wrong feel so right?_

They ask themselves as they went about their day.

He gets called into the office and sees Anne Sampson at a table in front of his superior's as he gets debriefed. She mentions a commendation but it was all part of the job and the woman smiles. There was going to be something in it for this meeting.

This was it. They want him to spy on her.

No, ain't no bloody way he was doing that to her.

He doesn't believe Anne Sampson. She probably knew Charlie's school because she had people pull records for his transfer. He could ask but he knew it would just spark another argument with her. He didn't want that.

They walk through the identical halls of Blackwood going to one hall from another before arriving at her door.

"I'll be in the adjoining room, you have a good evening, Ma'am," he tells her as he unlocks her room,

"You, too."

They undress pieces of clothing that are too restricting for the day and hesitates. He approaches the adjoining door as does she from the other side slowly opening it.

There was that irresistible look on her face as he approached and she takes all of him in before he passionately took her lips to his.

He nearly carries her as they move to the desk near the wall their lips barely separating as he quickly removed his shirt to the floor. He lifts her up and kisses her neck as he ran his hands from her back to her trousers quickly getting rid of them.

"Your job just complicates everything..."

She sits on the furniture as he fishes his cock out of his underpants and moved her underwear aside to sink onto her. She moans loudly as he starts to move inside of her.

"Nothing complicates, my job." he pauses as he feels her tight against him,

"It's to protect you,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There isn't anybody who beta reads this by the way so if I have plotholes. I am truly sorry :>


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No traumatizing things for our characters and Anne Sampson can be trusted in this fic.

_Episode 3_

* * *

He felt warm inside as she unconsciously sought his embrace. He laid there focusing on her. 

Everything about her.

Her breathing, her eyelashes, her bare lips, and flushed cheeks. A woman that by some means found her way into his heart and just by admiring her he felt at peace.

He soon found himself in a dreamless sleep. 

The hours pass until he felt her fingers run through his hair before softly touching the scars of his past, metaphorically and physically. It was a surprise that he fell asleep after staring at her for minutes and an uninterrupted one at that fact. 

Julia heard his breaths change and knew that he was waking from his slumber. His eyes flutter open to reveal the dark blue that she's grown to love. 

"Hello you," she greets happily as she drapes a leg across him,

"Hello you," he cheekily grins and she smiles. 

His light amidst the darkness. 

They share parts of their lives together under the cover of thin white sheets and she didn't laugh. In this span of time, he knew that he loves her despite their contrary political beliefs. 

It wasn't just a job anymore. 

* * *

He gathers the information he currently had on the first of October attack and the shooting in Pascoe House trying to find who was the common link. There was his boss, Craddock, that was previously involved in arms smuggling then Chanel, Julia's previous PR aide, then there's his former mate Andy, who committed suicide on the roof. 

The unidentified man that he saw could be the answer he was looking for only finding him was taking so much time. 

He steps into the shower and adjusts the knob to let the water become warm. There was a man in Julia's room. He recognized it as Stephen Hunter-Dunn but he couldn't just get out of the spray just because. It'll leave a mess and added to the fact that he didn't want to pry as well. 

The voices continue to talk until he steps out of the shower to brush his teeth. The man leaves and he dresses for the day knowing he needed the excuse for not recording anything substantial for his boss. 

The telly was reporting the incident on Pascoe House and he felt his chest tighten. He turns off the damn thing and dials a number hoping the man on the other side could answer.

"Dave, are you checking in?" Pat asks on the other end,

"Aye, do you have something for me?" he responds,

"Yeah, we'll need to meet somewhere. You're not going to like it," 

* * *

She was teasing him and it was working. 

The moment she asked if he slept well for the night after spending the night _with her_. Did she really want him to snog her in the hall and blow their covers? No, probably not but it was very tempting. 

There was a sneaking suspicion that she wanted to do something when she wanted to use the loo after the elevator doors opened. The suspicion of which was proven true after she slammed him to the door after he closed it for her. 

He smiles on his lips as she attacks him with kisses, a bit amused at the situation before she stopped.

_"I know you'll never let anything bad happen to me," Never._ he thought as she placed one last kiss to his lips. 

He switches back to his bodyguard mode as she ruffles her hair and reapplies some lipstick. 

"Let's go,"

* * *

In the afternoon, he and Kim switch shifts on watching her as he was called to the office. Craddock offered him a seat before directly getting on to the point of their conversation. 

"On the Home Secretary's contact with the Security Service," she explains to him, 

Aye, that bit of the job he didn't want to do. 

He tells her off by saying nothing significant really came up and she tells him of the Secretary's schedule. The schedule of the meeting that happened just hours before he was in the office. He knew that she needed to know that information but keeping tabs on her that closely was suspicious. 

"I was taking a shower and missed that. Very sorry, ma'am." he honestly tells her, 

She threatens her and that's what breaks him. 

He didn't know who to tell. 

* * *

The SCO15 interview went well. As well as it could have been seeing that parts of his statement were fabricated and could very well get him in jail. The interview had him shaking like a leaf. He needed to move up his own investigation of things. 

Luckily, he was meeting with Patrick and Angela regarding the information that they gathered for him. 

"Dave, here's the file." Pat hands the black folder in his messenger bag to his buddy as he and Angela sat down,

"Andrew Apsted was hired by a shell company to do a hit on the Home Secretary," he explains, "the money paid to him was traced to an account in the Caymans."

"Now, the shell company has a legitimate business of shipping computer parts to the region but its' also a cover for organized crime." Angela explains, "Arms smuggling, drug and human trafficking you name it." 

"The man you saw is Luke Aitkens, he's a prominent figure in the syndicate. He is the one who paid Andrew the money for the hit." David listens as he tells him and he replies, 

"Aye aye, I saw them at the peace group for veterans a few days ago," Pat hums at his response before adding, "Now, I also think he and your boss know each other from her time in the Agency but we're still having trouble linking him to Chanel and the first of October bomber."

"You have to be careful, David." she warns, "there are a lot of players in this game of cat and mouse."

"I know. Thanks,"

* * *

"Is anything the matter?" she asks him.

"No," _Yes, I want to tell you but I'm afraid that you'll die on me._ he thought painstakingly. 

She asks about his family and he tells her all the relevant information she needs. 

"You can always come to me," _I don't know if I trust you enough to tell it to the right people. Whoever they are._

She tells him information she wasn't supposed to and he thanks her for it. It could help him in finding the connection of all these people. She asks her if there's anything more and he really wants to tell her but he also promised that he'd protect her.

He'd protect her from anything. 

"You're sure?"

He makes a comment about her changing Charlie's school. Implying that it wasn't worth the risk, that they weren't worth the risk but she avoids the question once more and from there he confirmed his own suspicions.

"Thank you, Sergeant, have a good evening."

He sits in his room watching the news play on the telly when Andrew was implied on the report. His heart rate sped up and the sounds drowned around him as he rushed to the window to calm himself down.

_One... Two... Three... Four..._

He spent a few minutes trying to calm himself down that he only caught the last statement the man-made before chasing the man to the hallway. 

"The very man," he eerily replied before identifying himself,

_"Richard Longcross,"_

* * *

There was a leak in the police that he knew despite the information that came from Sharma. 

He needed to search for another person, though, Julia's guest the night before: Richard Longcross and then there's Stephen Hunter-Dunn. Why was he working with her? What were they working for?

The names came up empty on the databases which meant that they had a high enough position to have their records removed. He fed the name to Angela in a covert message, she'd know what to do with it.

His therapist gives him anxiety and sleeping pills before going back to the Home Office. She warned him that if he felt depressed or suicidal to not to turn to the pills. She told him that if he wanted to talk to someone during those times just give her a call. 

He observes her blank expression from the hall after the Director-General of the Security Services left her office. They were both hiding something. The subjects both serious and life-threatening if found out. 

He'll need to watch the people around her more closely.

They meet again at the elevator. They both had a long day. She makes a remark on how he'll knock on her once she's done and he replies on how he's like room service. Julia bit her lip at the wrong message she sent to him and sighed as the elevator beeped open. 

"Please don't turn out to be a bloke that can't accept a woman having power,"

No, he didn't mind women in power. He minded when he thought it was getting dangerous and could put her life at jeopardy, which is what she was probably doing with all those meetings with Hunter-Dunn.

"We're not handling this very well, aren't we?" she asks him,

"No, it's me. It's my fault." he starts anxiously, "I never expected..." _for this to happen. For me to fall for the second time._

"Neither did I..." _but it has happened and I've grown fond of you_. 

She walks over to the other side of her room, leaning on the doorframe, teasing him. He watches amusingly as she slips her hand in her underwear.

"This your way of kidding me I'm more in control?" he asks her dauntingly and she replies, "You see right through me,"

Julia walks away and he quickly crosses the rooms. 

* * *

He gets three hours of sleep despite exhausting himself the night before. She looked quite peaceful seeing her asleep by his side but now he needed to look for something. 

He finds a tablet, figuring out the key, and scans the information before leaving it where he found it.

It was about Vosler and the things he did in the past. The things that would ruin him if it ever got out to the public that he did. From there he made a deduction.

Julia is snatching the key to Number 10. 

* * *

In the early morning meeting with Craddock and Sampson, he only told them about Richard Longcross and about how he looked onto it but drew a blank on the database. He lies about seeing the device, though, he didn't want them to know that bit of information. 

As the meeting concluded, he met with Anne Sampson in the hall because somehow he knew he could trust her. 

"Commander Sampson, I need to have a quick word," he asks as he caught up to her, "Okay, sure, what is it?"

"I'd like it if it was in a more secure place, ma'am," he asks of her, "preferably somewhere that isn't bugged."

The woman raised her eyebrows but did as he requested and then he asked. 

"Ma'am, was threatening my family to be removed from the safe house part of the elaborate scheme to make me your spy?" he asks of her once they were in a dingy room in the bowels of the Metropolitan Offices,

"No, threatening police officers especially you are not in the question, David." she answers surprised at his allegation then connect the dots together, "Were you threatened David?" 

He ran his hand through his hair and she had an answer.

* * *

The woman wanted to have a private meeting with him in the wee hours of the morning where the world was still asleep and he had agreed. Craddock's threat was not part of what the women discussed and that it was an unprecedented move for the woman to do so. 

Now, he was observing the near altercation between Tahir and Rob. The man could really be nicer to the other considering that Mahmood does a better job than him but then maybe that's why he's so salty about him being there. 

The House ends its debate on RIPA-18 and she looked beautiful despite arguing over her policy. Tahir gives her numbers on the polls and from what he knew about that is that the numbers don't lie. Tahir tells her that she needed to fulfill her engagement at St. Matthews to get the country on her side which sounded like a pain in the arse for him.

He'd oppose her engagement at St. Matthews but the decision did come well above his pay grade and she teases him about it.

"You don't want people to suspect you've become more protective," she leans onto his ear, "Emotionally distracted,"

"Aye, busted."

He grins.

* * *

He calls his therapist after Vicky didn't answer his calls. 

"Hi Dave, what's happening?" she asked, 

At their first meeting, she thought that asking how someone was knowing that they weren't okay was a foolish thing to do so she made that as a compromise. 

"I'm doing good. The kids are okay. The principal is okay..." he trails off, "but, I feel like now that everything's okay there's something that'll happen again."

"Listen..."

* * *

He meets with Angela and Pat at another shady restaurant dressed down after being informed that the police had a lead on the shooter. 

"What's new?" he asks them as he sat down the meal in front of him looking good,

"In several encrypted e-mails, Chanel Dyson and Lorraine Craddock were exchanging details of the Home Secretary's itinerary." Angela hands him another folder,

"She's her aide isn't she supposed to be doing that?" he asks them as he scans the files, 

"Not when they were talking about how the security does its sweeps and what the blind spots were," 

"You also said that Nadia Ali got the information about your kids from you," Pat says as they share some of the meat, "Yes,"

"We think that she gave the information to the syndicate after foiling 1/10 and then they did the rest," she explains and he hums, "so it was an act of revenge?"

"Yes, though, Angela needs to link Craddock, Dyson, and Aitkens beforehand." Pat says before Angela adds," In addition to that, Richard Longcross I believe works for Stephen Hunter-Dunn. They're plotting something else and what that is I do not know yet." 

"I know what it is, you don't need to worry about that," he tells them as the food arrives and Pat says,

"Okay, let's enjoy this luncheon for once,"

* * *

Lorraine Craddock and Chanel Dyson were feeding information to the syndicate through Luke Aitkens so they could send out hits on the Home Secretary. 

That's their working theory and the information they gathered was close to something incriminating for the three. There's only so much time before another attack occurred and his gut told him it would be at St. Matthews. He stops by at a jewelry store before returning to the office because the feeling of impending doom won't go away.

She calls him in the afternoon and asks for him to drive her somewhere under the cover of darkness. The thing that makes him concede, however, was what she said before she hung up.

_"Please David, you're the only one I trust."_

He drives her to Chequers albeit a bit hesitant but nonetheless he was comforted that she was with him. He identifies himself to the guard then the man spoke away from their vehicle. He lets them in and she turns to him,

_"This never happened. If I don't come back go to the Death Star."_

Thankfully, she reemerged from the building unscathed and they were able to come back to the Blackwood with no one other than them knowing. 

"You scared me back there," he honestly tells her as she sat on her bed with nothing but her black satin nightie.

"I'm sorry," she sincerely says as he moves to be above her,

"Please don't do that to me again," he wraps his arms around her and buries his face on his chest, 

"I don't think I can take it if I'd lose you," he admits taking her all in,

"I can't promise anything," she says as she ran her fingers through his curls,

"Please tell me you'll at least try," he looks up and asks of her, 

"I'll try my best," she grins and he lifts himself up to kiss her,

Julia hums approvingly as he kissed her softly, slowly, before she felt his strong hands roam against her soft skin.

"David..." she moans as she felt him slip inside her,

"Julia..." 

He moves above her and then they're lost. 

* * *

The bed was cold and empty when she woke in the middle of the night. Frankly, she was starting to get used to sleeping in one bed with him that it interrupted her sleep if he wasn't there. 

"David?" she calls out but he doesn't respond,

There he was asleep at his bed nearly naked except for his tight black underpants. Fortunately, he started to take his sleeping pills and he was out like a baby. If it were any other day, he would have jumped and strangled her. 

She climbs above him and presses a kiss to his forehead before she laid down on his side. He unconsciously turned and pressed her closer to him as he softly breathed. She observes his features as he slept; the way his nose twitches, how his lips were, and the tattoo on his arm. 

_"I love you,"_

* * *

The next day, she was surprised to see Kim instead of David as her PPO for the day. She tries not to hide her question from the woman but Kim has been with her since the last eight months of her marriage and has considered her as a friend. 

"I take it you didn't expect to see me today, ma'am?" Kim says as they enter her car,

"No, I didn't," she admitted and Kim opens her door for her,

"Skip has some business at the office today." Kim informs the principal, "It shouldn't be too long,"

_He hasn't mentioned anything._ she thought. 

They introduce her to the rest of the senior academic administrators of the college before seeing Tahir in the back. She talks to him as Kim stood by watched from afar. Kim sees the silhouette of a man on the hall but deems it as innocent before turning back to secure the area.

Julia was led backstage where there was a lounge room to make herself comfortable in before addressing the people.

"Lavender, good to go?" Tom asks Kim who was stationed at her door,

"Deploy to the auditorium," Kim says as he leaves,

"See you in there," 

* * *

The Divorce Decree arrived at their mailboxes the same day she had her speech at St. Matthews'. He quickly gave Vicky her copy before leaving for Overstrand to hide something for her and then the meeting point. Anne Sampson wanted to know the information that he kept and that included the ones he got from his friends. The four were meeting at a cafe that they deemed safe from prying eyes to discuss the data.

"Ma'am, this is Patrick Evans from MI6 and his friend Angela Gardener from the Smithsonian Institution in DC," he introduces his boss to his friends, "This is Commander Anne Sampson, from the Counter Terrorism Command at the MPS."

"David, you were working with a foreign national?" she glares at the police officer as they sat, 

"I didn't know until recently, ma'am," he truthfully tells her and she huffs in frustration, "Well, at least we'll see if your efforts have produced something good,"

"Oh, it has, ma'am. In fact, I think we're nearly done exposing this web of organized crime," Angela leans in the table taunting her, 

"I'm listening..."

* * *

Kim enters the room and Julia sighs before standing up to address the public.

"Ma'am," Kim calls out and she responds, "Kim?"

"Skipper wanted me to give this to you before you went on," 

She produces a baby blue box tied with a silver ribbon from her coat pockets. Her eyes widen as she takes the box from Kim and opens it to see a shiny oval locket. She looks at Kim and her look urges her to open the necklace to see what's inside.

There was a folded piece of paper and she unravels it to see his somewhat legible handwriting. 

_I love you._

Her heart skips a beat and her eyes nearly welled with tears at the message. _He loves me._ she thought as she folds the paper back to see another one. 

_If I don't come back, go to the Death Star._

The warm feeling she felt was replaced with a sense of dread for the unknown. She folds the paper back into the locket hoping that whatever the message meant wasn't something dangerous and handed Kim the locket.

"Would you please?" she gives the necklace to Kim for her to wear on her neck,

She turns around and Kim locks the chain around her before keeping it under her blouse. She unconsciously touched the place where the locket rested and she felt warm. 

"Thank you, Kim. Let's go." she makes a move but then there was a loud bang reverberating throughout the building, 

Kim ushers her inside the room communicating with others through the radio,

"7-4 to 4-2, what the hell just happened?" 

" _4-2 to 7-4, there was a bomb underneath the stage and it exploded. Get Lavender out of the building now."_

"Wilco."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He doesn't hear her say the words.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne Sampson is read in. Julia gives the investigation back to the Police. David is injured. They have their first small fight.

_Episode 4_

* * *

Anne Sampson was impressed. 

An occasion that rarely ever happened. 

In the span that she sat there, the three white musketeers have explained their findings to her. The information of which was backed by several databases she knew David's friend, Angela, bypassed.

They started with Chanel Dyson feeding information to Lorraine Craddock. Information that was holes in their security services that could threaten the life of each principal. Patrick explains the organized crime syndicate and how CSI Craddock was involved through her previous stint at the Agency. 

They also explained that Nadia Ali obtained her information from David, himself, to which she scolded and that it was probably an act of revenge. The shooting on the roof of Pascoe House, however, was a different matter altogether. 

David explained how he knew Apsted and how he withheld information during the witness interview because he didn't know who to trust. He felt like Craddock had him on a chokehold and that's why he asked her if the threat to remove his family from the safe house was part of their plan.

"Why did you choose to trust me?" she asks the Scotsman,

"There's no motive to your actions, Ma'am, except to find out whatever the Home Secretary is doing by meeting the Security Services," he explains, "Everyone else has another item on their agenda that they want to be fulfilled but you, Ma'am, are at the top of your game,"

Anne sat back and sighed because he was true. Her interests were focused on National Security, not personal gain.

One of the last of their problems was finding the source of the bombs considering its' sophistication and that it was handmade. It could be that the syndicate had an engineer in their ranks that made the bombs for them. As well as the motives of these people. 

"We'll keep at it, Ma'am," Pat reassures as they finish the last of their breakfast, 

"None of this goes out of this circle," she points at them as they hummed in agreement,

Her phone rings from her pocket and she answers not remembering the time,

"What? What happened?"

* * *

Her heart was pounding against her chest as Kim ushered her outside the building. Her throat felt tight and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her head felt heavy and she felt like passing out as they assisted her to her car. 

_David._

Of all the times, she needed him he wasn't there for reasons she didn't know. As she sat on the rear of the car, she started to recall his soothing words back when they were getting shot. 

_It's alright, ma'am. You'll be fine._

The minutes passed and she heard Kim speak through the radio before addressing her. 

"Ma'am, we'll be heading back to your suite for the day until..." 

Her voice goes under the sounds of traffic that was emanating through her ears. Her hands move to her phone, tempted to call David for reassurance but as soon as she opens the screen she sees a text.

_You alright?_

What she didn't know was his temptation to end the text as; _You alright, love?_ , but it was best to leave no evidence of something unprofessional going on or they'll both lose their jobs. 

Her reply is short and direct to the point.

_No._

The three dots on her screen appear as she waits for his reply. 

_On duty after lunch. Just visiting someone._

Seeing those words made her breathe a little easier. 

* * *

True to his word, he was just visiting someone at the Cemetery. 

Andrew.

They knew what he did was wrong but the police made some exceptions for his funeral considering he was a disgraced war veteran. He didn't have any family. He was seeing someone before he enlisted and the woman made up her mind that she couldn't do the long-distance thing as long as she knew he was in danger so they broke up. 

He expected to be alone at the rites because he knew his mate didn't have family ties but surprisingly there was one other person by his side. 

Luke Aitkens.

They were both dressed in black, albeit, the other was wearing a leather jacket. 

"You knew Andy?" the latter of the men broke the silence first,

"Aye, we served out in Helmand." he briefly shared as he discreetly dialed Anne Samspon's number,

_Hello? David? I don't have time for this._

Anne was about to hang up but then Luke Aitkens speaks to him.

_"You were at the meeting hiding behind the shadows," he asks David, "Why didn't you join us?"_

She waves off Sharma and Rayburn who were nearby, quickly telling them to record and trace the call from their end. 

_"They're not my kind of thing," he admits, "I'm seeing a therapist now. Says I'm doing good."_

_"Good for you, mate." Luke congratulates and he glances at him before asking,_

_"How did you know, Andy?"_

_"We met through a mutual contact and I visited him in the group meeting," Luke explains as the casket went underground_

_"I don't believe you," he says_

"David, don't escalate!" she nearly shouts 

_"What was that?"_

The phone hangs as she threw it across the room.

_Shit._

* * *

They convened at the meeting room in the Home Office.

They were to identify those responsible and neutralize any threats that are still at large. There was a terrorist group that praised the work of whoever did the attack on the British public and it was unnerving. 

They're going to look into Tahir but she thought that the man couldn't probably even hurt a fly from the looks of him but then her judgment did get the better of her, so, it was best if they do look into it from all angles.

As she sat in the middle chair, she kept glancing outside the window to see Kim glancing from side to side in the Office. He texted her saying that he'd be on duty after lunch but he wasn't there. 

"I rescind my statement about the Security Service taking the lead in this investigation," she suddenly says out loud and their attention shifts to her, "I believe that our Police can shed light on this situation and that the Security Service is to assist them in any and all forms of inquiry as well as information gathering."

"I think it's best to collaborate instead of being against each others' throats' is it not?" 

"Yes, of course, Home Secretary," Anne Sampson replies glancing at her phone discreetly waiting for a message from the Sergeant,

"If that's all then this meeting is concluded,"

* * *

His body felt sore like a train ran him over and passed on him multiple times, though, he wondered;

_Why am I alive?_

He felt like a shish kebab after minutes of lying on the grass. A shish kebab because everything felt like it was burning and that there was a cut on his stomach that could've been his death.

The sun was setting in the sky above him until a shadow of a woman towers over him and says;

"Thank God, you're alive." 

It was Vicky.

* * *

"I was looking for you. You know," she says as she had him slung on her body, " and then I remembered you texted me about your mate's funeral."

"What the hell happened, Dave?" she asks him unbelievably as they walk down the street,

"I can't tell you," He wants her safe despite all that has happened between them. It's better if she doesn't know. 

They arrive at the safe house in record time.

There were some perks to having an ex-wife that's a nurse, one of which was she could just bandage him in the safe house before going back to work. They were greeted at the corner where the police officers were stationed and if they were shocked at seeing him in that condition. They didn't show it. 

"Dave, you're seriously working in this condition?" Vicky asks incredulously as she places a bandage on his stab wound, 

"Vick, I'll be fine. I know the drill." 

_Disinfect and change your bandages. Watch out for infection._

"Just be careful, yeah?" she asks of him as she bandages the cuts on his head,

"Yeah, I promise."

* * *

The journey to the Blackwood was a rushed one. The only things he had on him were his Glock for the next day and bandages for his injuries.

He made it just as Kim closed the door to the Principal's suite. Kim turns around to see David in his street clothes a bit banged up than she expected him to be.

"Skip! What happened to you?" she asks in hushed tones and he vaguely answers, "Been doing some errands for the office. It got a bit heated up," 

"The principal and Commander Sampson were looking for you." she informs him and adds, "Did you tell them you're alright?"

"No, not yet." he honestly replies, "I'll just..."

Kim opens the door to his adjoining room and he walks in nodding at the other guard for the change. She surrenders the keys to the suite and sighs before speaking,

"You sure you're up for this tomorrow, Skip?" 

"Aye, I'll be fine Kim." 

"Cheers." 

Kim closes his door and he sits on the bed feeling the effects of the beating he took in the cemetery. He sent a text to Anne Sampson about his whereabouts and condition to which she immediately responds.

_We need to talk about reassigning you, David. This is getting out of hand._

He unbuttons his polo but hisses as he tries to pull his shirt over his head. He was close to getting the guard outside to help him but the door to her room opens and she strides inside expecting Kim.

"Kim, tell..." she looks up from her documents,

"David,"

"Julia,"

* * *

She wasn't expecting him to be in the adjoining room. 

No, after being MIA for most of the day she was not expecting him to be there. Admittedly, she was close to having a search party find him but then they would argue that a person had to be missing for more than 24 hours to qualify. 

"Where were you?" she asks worriedly as he sits on the edge of the bed avoiding her gaze,

"The question of the day..." he mutters quite annoyed about how people kept asking and just removes his shoes,

"For the love of God, David, I was worried!" she exclaims and that caught his attention, "I needed you!"

He shot straight up, ignoring the muscles that protested at the movement, and turned to see tears in her eyes. He knew he made a mistake in that comment. 

"Fuck, I'm sorry, love." he approaches to hug but she pushes him away.

He hissed but she already shut the door between them, barely noticing the injuries to his face, thinking.

_Had his message meant nothing for her? For having so little trust in him?_

* * *

A strangled groan from his adjoining room caught her attention as she was looking over confidential files. The silence that ensued afterward worried her. 

"David?" she called out, 

The silence was deafening and for the first time since she was placed in that room, she knocks. Her ears pick up on a pained reply and she goes inside.

"I need some help," he admits and asks as she approaches,

He looks up to see her wearing the black satin set she started to wear once they began their relationship and the locket he gave to Kim once he thought he was a goner. 

Finally, she sees the bruise on the side of his head, and the cut on his eyebrow.

"David, what happened to you?" she asks sitting beside him to check his injuries, 

"You're wearing it," he states admirably as the locket rests between her breasts,

"I am, and it is a lovely present," she tells him,

"And, I love you,"

His eyes twinkle in happiness as he admits it aloud to her and her heart skips a beat.

"I like you okay too, PS Budd." she grins and tells him, "but, you're avoiding the question."

He leans back the headboard, an arm slung around his torso before he explains himself.

"I promised to protect you." he tells her, "That's what I was doing."

Julia wasn't satisfied with his answer but she knew not to push then there's another matter.

"What do you need help with?" she asks him biting her lip, teasing him, 

He stands up and she does as well before he takes her hands, placing it on his shirt. She raises an eyebrow as he makes her undress him and slowly reveal the injuries underneath.

"David!" she gasps,

"Care to join me in the shower?" he grins playfully while she gave him an unamused look, "I think these are much more pressing matters to attend to,"

"I promise you'll get the full extent of my injuries if you join me," he offers his hand and she takes it but says,

"You're not getting away from this,"

* * *

The fact that she had to help him into his bulletproof vest proved that he needed to take some time off but she couldn't talk him out of it. He greets her a _Good Morning, Ma'am_ even if he knew that she slept horribly after deciding that they sleep on separate beds as he healed.

They were silent inside the car much like the first days of his employment but what she didn't see was him pulling out his phone to text her. 

_I have a meeting with Sampson in the afternoon. Kim' will be with you until the evening._

Her phone receives the message and she's surprised but then again they both needed to be hush hush. 

_Thank you for telling me._

He sees her reply and he smiles. 

The afternoon came by quickly and he was sitting in a chair in front of Sampson's desk. The Commander was bringing in a whiteboard. The pictures of the suspects, pins on their links to each other, and possible motives. It was an intricate web of people that only four people knew.

"I think MacDonald was trying to embarrass the Home Secretary at a bigger stage," he reveals the thoughts that plagued him in the car ride, 

"Why so?" the Commander asks and he explains,

"The Home Secretary is taking the key to Number 10,"

They called in Rob MacDonald from the Home Office under the premise that it was an investigation about his relationship to Tahir Mahmood. He quickly says that they were good but the lip reader wrote out their conversations that were anything less than friendly.

It was unfortunate that he eventually broke. 

"It was all for the sake of party unity."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They slowly unravel everything.

_Episode 5_

* * *

His phone rang on the nightstand beside him, irritating him and his companion as it continued to vibrate. It stops after a minute and a loud bell permeates the air notifying him of a message.

_Come in._

Sampson's short yet brief message meant that _now_ not later. 

He groaned and ran a hand through his face not wanting to leave their bubble. Julia turns to look at the clock and sees that it was half-past five in the morning. It was still early and the sun hadn't even begun to rise. 

"What was that?" she asks him blearily as he sits up to give her his shirt, 

"I'm needed at the office," he tells her honestly and she huffs,

"In this ungodly hour? No." she buttons the middle part of his shirt and drags him back to her bed, 

He lays on his back and she climbs on top of him, leaning down to rain kisses on his face. She looked beautiful. His shirt was big on her, made it more like a dress that stopped just above her knees. Her cheeks were flushed, lips plump, and her smile reached her eyes. Her face was a picture of happiness.

"Darling, I need to go. They'll be angry at me," he explains.

Julia throws her head back and groans before leaning down to kiss him once more for the morning.

"You have my..." _heart._

"And, you have mine."

* * *

The morning meeting of four became a gang of six as Commander Sampson thought that her most trusted pair in the force were worthy of investigating along them.

Thus, the addition of DCI Sharma and DS Rayburn to the group.

The six were seated at a secluded round table their documents ready to be revealed and the conspiracy soon to be solved. Patrick reveals that Nadia Ali was possibly the one who created the bombs after discovering that she has a degree in electrical engineering and her husband, another degree related in the same field.

"CSI Craddock..." Angela starts off, "wants the Home Secretary out of the picture."

"Considering that smile on your face, I'm guessing you have her figured out." David points out as she grins, "Yes, yes I have figured her out."

"Craddock wants the Home Secretary out of the picture because of RIPA-18." she briefly explains, "because the Act allows the Security Service to find the terrorists and organized crime syndicates in the country."

"Your boss and employee, Commander Sampson," Patrick acknowledge, "is disclosing information to the syndicate that might threaten his criminal activities."

"And then, the Home Secretary creates RIPA-18 that threatens everything." Sampson discerns and David continues, "He hires a hitman, Apsted, who he met and recruits at the Veteran's Peace Group to take out the threat to his businesses."

"Chanel, on the other hand, is one of their members who receive a large sum for leaking her schedule to the syndicate," Angela adds, "Of course, adding to the fact that she plotted against her former boss during her time implicates her in the web."

"Great job, guys." the Commander praises, "We need to keep the Home Secretary safe until we can catch these guys." 

"But, first we need to start cracking Nadia Ali."

* * *

They start interviewing her using the basic questions about the bombing and if she was coerced by her husband. Nadia agreed to their line of questioning until one of them changed the path. 

"Nadia, we found out that you and your husband obtained degrees in engineering, albeit, different fields but related." The woman froze for the first time and the interviewer goes on.

"We found your prints on the bomb during the first of October and at St. Matthew's," he tells her,

"You created those bombs, didn't you?" he leans on the table facing her

"Yes," she admits,

"Who planted the bomb on St. Matthew's?" they ask, 

"The non-believers... the criminals." she vaguely says but they know.

"Luke Aikens." 

Nadia avoided their gaze and nods: the confirmation.

* * *

Rob was resigning. 

He gave her his resignation letter the moment she'd arrived at their floor of the office. Julia bit her lip trying not to smile at his move as he explained that it was high time he chose another type of profession. He left her possible candidates on his desk but of course, she wasn't taking his advice. 

If her office didn't consist of glass walls, she could grin but since it was she prompted to turn her leather chair away from prying eyes before texting David. 

_Rob resigned._

He quickly replies. 

_Good for you!_

David knew that Rob resigning was because of his prior interview with SO15. He didn't want to be part of their dirty schemes anymore. At first, he wanted to be in on it because she wasn't returning his affections but he didn't know how dangerous it'd become. 

Julia saw Mike walk nervously across her office and to the elevator as if he did something wrong. 

Hmm...? 

* * *

He was back in his flat for the first time in weeks. He needed to burn some files that were pertinent to the current investigation to the organized crime syndicate. He closes the blinds and checks for his unregistered weapon. The one he got as a souvenir from the war. 

He checks the bullet casings and it feels lighter than it should be. 

Someone has been to his flat and he had an idea of who it was. 

* * *

He reported the breach to Sampson who passed the investigation to Louise and Deepak before going to a cafe.

It was the first time he actually indulged in his lunch break. He ordered a cappuccino for each of the men in the back-up car as well as Hunter, her driver, and of course, a decaf latte for her. If he bought one and only for her, he was sure it would raise eyebrows. 

He was sitting quietly near the windows when Chanel Dyson made herself known to him. 

"David?" she calls out, "Chanel."

"Hey!" she greets, "Hi,"

"Is this a regular haunt of yours?" he asks her, "Yes, I've been here before and no I'm not stalking you."

He politely asks how she is and she replies that she's been good. Moved on but it is a tricky time. 

Tricky time, indeed.

Chanel apologizes for the scene the day she was fired but of course, all is forgiven. She was going to call him about it but he wasn't answering. 

"Just cause I was going to suggest a drink if...?" she purses her lips, "My treat?"

He agrees to it and she grins. As Chanel left, he pulls out his phone to text Sampson;

_The shit hits the fan._

* * *

_A decaf latte for you, ma'am._

Her temporary assistant hands her as she looks up from the piles of files on her desk. On the side, she could recognize his script. A single letter J and a small heart beside it. She felt her cheeks flush a bit receiving the drink and hoped that her assistant didn't notice.

"Thank you, Lily." she dismisses her with a wave of her hand and she leaves.

Her eyes meet his and his lips twitch to the side seeing her sip the drink. Julia knew this was some kind of penance for leaving her alone so early in the morning. David grins to himself and shifts his attention to the other employees of the Home Office before someone noticed their lingering gazes. 

It wouldn't do the both of them good if they get caught before he's reassigned. 

* * *

They shortly meet again in the afternoon at a more visible location but private room before. Rayburn and Sharma were ready to take in the information from their found friends as David and Patrick get comfortable. 

Patrick wasn't able to trace Longcross but Angela did after nearly breaking cyber laws. 

"Longcross works for Hunter-Dunn at the Security Service." she explains to their gang of six, "He also works for Penhaligon."

"They are both planning to snatch the key for Number 10," Patrick reveals as David speculates, "but the Home Secretary has the device, and the Security Service wants it back for Penhaligon?"

"That's our working theory." the Commander sighs at sits back on her chair, "David after this do you still want to be reassigned?"

"I'll need to ask my wife about it, ma'am, see what she has to say." he half-lies knowing that he was just recently divorced and hasn't put in the emergency contact because he was afraid of Craddock.

He also does need to talk about it just not with his ex-wife.

On to the next subject at hand. 

* * *

_"Thanks for the boost, Sarge."_

He was greeted with as he opened the door to the Home Secretary's car from there she knew that he had not only bought her coffee but the rest of her team as well. He tells them it was no problem and said his greetings before entering her vehicle. They wear their seat-belts and as the car pulls away he says.

"Lavender outbound."

Once they were in the privacy of their Blackwood suite, Julia slams him on the wall and kisses him. Her lips brushed his softly, just long enough to inhale her breath, feel the warmth of her skin, and the taste of the decaf he bought her.

"Thank you for the decaf," she says as she pulls away.

"How'd you know it was from me?" he teases and she thinks back.

"Your hand and the heart." she kisses him once more before chucking her coat to an armchair nearby. 

"Aye, busted." 

Julia walks through her closet and changes into more comfortable clothes as he sat on the foot of her bed. He sits there admiring her.

A strong yet vulnerable woman dedicated to helping the world around her. 

"David?"

Her voice snaps him out of his reverie. He observes that all her makeup is gone and the power suit she wore was replaced by nightwear. He loves it. 

It was the most genuine version of herself. 

"You're beautiful," he compliments as she approaches to stand between his legs. 

"Your flattery will get you nowhere, PS Budd." she teases as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"It's not flattery if it's a fact." 

* * *

The next evening Kim was in the adjoining room, David was at the Office. That's what he said but Sampson, Sharma, Rayburn, Evans, and Gardener knew otherwise. He was at her Manor going for drinks with Chanel and if Julia knew where he was at she'd kill him.

"You made it."

He was wearing a mic on his chest concealed unless someone touched him intimately. An action he certainly would not allow. Chanel hugs and softly slips her finger to his coat pocket, checking for a gun. 

Bingo.

They order drinks and sit on velvet couches beneath the previous room. He starts off at her time in the Home Office. The rumors that they already cross-checked through different databases but he doesn't let her know that. 

"I heard some things about you," he tells her,

"What is it this time?" she asks him quite used to the accusations,

"Your money comes from companies registered offshore." he says and she replies, "So?"

"I think there was a concern that these companies weren't fully legit," he explains and she deflects.

"Listen, David, I'm not a business person and I'm certain you're not but I have clever people to do all that for me." she talks, "so we could sit here and talk about corporate law all night and be none the wiser."

"That's a fair point," 

They chuckle as their drinks are served in front of them. He stares at her thinking. 

"What?" she asks feeling the burn of his gaze,

"I'm just trying to figure you out."

David thought that Chanel gave herself off by sharing that tidbit of information about being deceptive. She looks to the side to see the three men waiting for her guest and she says.

"I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The shit hits the fan." as a code for he made contact with Chanel.
> 
> Please tell me if I'm veering off the story or something.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David is placed in the suicide vest because they want him killed by his own hand, literally, but allies are there for him.

* * *

_Episode 6_

* * *

David didn't come back to the suite overnight.

That's a sure thing because she couldn't fall asleep and found Kim on his bed. There was something going on and she didn't know of it. He was often outside the Home Office, Kim covering his shifts as he did something for the police. 

He was being sneaky and she didn't like it. 

Her phone rang half-past nine in the morning just as she was getting comfortable in her office. The caller's name flashes on the screen and a feeling of dread washes over her. 

What did Anne Sampson need early in the morning?

Her schedule was reorganized after being informed that they needed to meet at an unfamiliar location. In a more normal attire than her usual suit. Kim thought it'd be best if she wore her favorite red jumper, black jeans that rarely got used, a cap and shades to hide her face from prying eyes. 

"Everyone I believe you know the Home Secretary," Anne Sampson introduces as she looks at the table of people. 

The individuals introduced themselves as friends of David and the detectives of the Metropolitan Police. Angela, the forensic artist from the Smithsonian, was on her left and Anne Sampson to her right. The men were on the other side of the table.

"We're a crack team assembled by your PPO to investigate on a number of things," she explains and Julia sits back on her chair,

"I'm listening."

"The first of which is the first of October rail attack." she mentions and her interest is piqued, "My officers in the Met shall start putting Nadia and Aqib Ali in separate private cells not to be allowed any contact from the outside."

"Why?" she asks them and Sharma explains,

"Skip, Angela and Patrick found out that it was Nadia who made the bombs for the attack." 

"Nadia Ali and her husband have degrees in engineering, different specialties but same field."

"There's also the matter of your shooting at Thornton Circus."

Julia felt the air shift around her and her throat closing up in fear. In her head, she counts until she could breathe.

"Julia? Are you alright?" Anne asks as she nods, "Yes, continue."

"David is pursuing a lead on the gun supplier during your attack but..." she bites her lip as Julia raises her eyebrow. 

"He hasn't been in touch."

* * *

The light came from above him. It made him wonder if he was in heaven but then if he was then should he feel so much pain?

He felt the dry blood on his supposedly healed injuries as well as some numbness on his fingers. He looks to see a tape and trigger on his finger then he notices the vest much like what Nadia Ali used during the first of October. 

David gasps and clutches the trigger tightly, carefully, not to detonate the bombs strapped on himself.

He felt his chest tighten against the vest and counted his breaths to calm himself. He needed to get out of there and find Sampson. No amount of army training could get him out of the jacket. 

He carefully stands assessing the dingy basement that Aikens dumped him over before grabbing a cloak and finding the door that led to his freedom. 

The people were staring at him. Of course, if anyone came out of a basement looking like him they would stare as well because it's not usual to see a bloodied man covered in a cloak in the middle of London. He started to ask around if anyone could let him borrow a phone but then again looking at him didn't make them feel secure.

Finally, a woman he stopped and said that she could just hold the speaker to him agreed after telling her it's an emergency.

_"Emergency, which service do you require?"_

Luckily for him, it was one of Rayburn's mates that were accepting calls in an emergency that answered the line. 

"Police," he states and he waits for the line to go through,

_"Police, what is your emergency?"_

"PS David Budd, using a member of the public's phone. I am status zero on Saltmarsh Street," he informs, 

_"Can you confirm your name, please?"_ they ask and he does. 

"Police Sergeant David Budd,"

_"We got you Sarge units are on their way,"_

The familiar voice of Louise Rayburn replies as she mouths off to Deepak and her boss that David just called informing them that he was status zero.

_"Please return the phone to the member of the public."_

The woman retracts her hand and turns off the speaker to ask what's going on but was given a very brief and vague answer before hanging up. He walks away from members of the public and onto the corner of a building knowing that if his finger slipped he'd be blown into kingdom come. 

He just hoped that they arrived fast. 

* * *

_"Saltmarsh Street, blue light it."_

Louise tells the driver as they make their way through the streets of London knowing that her friend was in danger. She thanks God for having the right mind and not wait for the other members of the unit because seeing David all bloodied and cloaked was not the thing she was expecting.

"Skip! You alright?" she asks him and he shrugs to reveal what's hiding underneath the cloak.

"You tell me," 

Her eyes widen seeing the vest and as he hides it again she calls for a bomb squad to get him out of it. In the Home Office, Julia Montague was wondering what has happened to her PPO turned lover after the meeting with Anne Sampson. 

Her ex-husband, Roger Penhaligon enters her office. The air shifts around them from worry to the tension that could break the glass as their cold glares meet each other. The Chief Whip of the Cabinet was reduced to playing games to clutch whatever remaining power he had. It was sad, really, to see what was once a great man fall. 

"Julia, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?" he asks her sarcastically as she stands to the front of her table,

"There was this little bird that resigned and effectively admitted in a recorded interview that you plotted against me." her gaze hardens as he stiffens in her accusations, " Of which resulted in the life of my efficient former PR aide, Tahir Mahmood." _May God rest his soul._

"I don't know where you ever encountered such a..." he tries to deny but she goes to press play on her computer.

_"We, Mike Travis, and uh... Roger Penhaligon... planned to embarrass her on a bigger stage."_

The voice of Rob MacDonald fills her office as he froze. Julia crossed her arms on her chest with an eyebrow raised and he grits his teeth as he hears his puppet's words.

_"We were going to insert inaccurate material in her speech."_

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

* * *

They carefully relocated to a dilapidated unused government warehouse before the bomb squad arrived in batches. It was minutes later, the men were working on the vest as Rayburn updated her boss of how they were removing the bomb.

"Home Secretary, Commander Sampson says there's a situation and she's calling through a secure feed." her aide informs her, "should I patch her through?"

"Yes, of course," she sits back on her chair as the feed of a station in the Met opens in her monitor. "Home Secretary,"

Sampson, Sharma, and Evans' faces fill the screen as their figures block the view of David in a suicide vest. 

"What's the situation?" she asks almost immediately and places her hands on top of one another and Patrick explains, "Skip was placed in a suicide vest, ma'am."

Julia freezes.

A new window pops up in her screen for her to see David trembling as he held the trigger tightly on his taped finger. Her vision blurs, she runs a hand to her face before breathing in deeply to calm her racing heart. In a minute, she composes herself as the team gave him a radio to communicate but kept a distance from him. 

"We'll get you out of that vest, Sarge." the team tells him over the radio and he nods.

The robot approaches him and he wonders how was he to manage with only one hand. Daniel, one of the squad members, says they'll start by freeing is another hand using the set of scissors on the bot. 

"Use it to divide the tape over your thumb, creating two loose ends," they instruct him.

His heart races as he cuts the tape and carefully removed each side of it from his nail bed. They tell him that he'll see a non-ferrous spacer but he had no fucking clue what that was and it became evident to them as they explained.

"It looks like one of the pieces in a game of draughts." _Okay, that he knew._

They instruct him to slip the spacer under his thumb, being sure to maintain pressure on the trigger. _Easier said than done._ In the Home Office, Julia Montague sat on her chair anxiously nearly biting her nail off her finger. One wrong move and he'll blow up into smithereens. 

She felt like she's going to faint. 

He nervously slips the spacer in between his finger and the trigger then was given the next set of instructions hoping to God that he'd done it right. He rolls his thumb in the opposite direction of the tape he just secured, folding the other free end of the tape to the spacer. 

If he knew she was watching, he would tell them not to let her see him like that.

"If you're sure the tape is secure, you'll be able to remove your thumb."

He removes his thumb and they both breathe a little easier. 

* * *

They remove the vest from his chest and was able to defuse it.

The Emergency Response Team has David sitting on the back of the vehicle as they cleaned his wounds. In the distance, Anne Sampson approaches the ambulance alongside Louise Rayburn looking quite relieved. 

"Skip, glad you're alright." Louise greets him as they dab antiseptic onto his wounds. 

"There's someone who wants to talk to you," Sampson hands him a phone and the voice of Julia Montague greets his ear.

_"Are you alright?"_ she asks him from the confines of her office, 

"Aye, doing better, ma'am." he answers politely, "They're doing a great job patching me up."

_"I'm glad to hear that, PS Budd."_ she feels relief, _"You can hand the phone back to Commander Sampson."_

"Yes, ma'am." 

As she says, he gives the phone back to Sampson, and the pair talk for some more minutes before they hung up. Sampson approaches him and smiles.

"It's good to see you in one piece, David." she truthfully says as she sees her police officer, "the last thing we need is one of the best officers in the force in pieces."

"Thank you, ma'am." he nearly blushes at the compliment, "but the job isn't done." 

"It isn't but at least let them treat your injuries first before finishing the job."

* * *

Kim was staying the night on the adjoining room once again. It was unnerving to not find him on the other side of her room but she was finally briefed on what he was going to do and the thought of him being with another woman was... making her jealous, even if the said woman was part of a syndicate. 

She contemplates how close she got to losing him and how they were both in too deep. They needed to do something. She didn't want covert relationships inside the hotel suite. She wanted the whole package. 

She wanted to be able to snog him in the bloody street, go on dates in restaurants without being criticized as inappropriate, celebrate their victories and losses together even help him with his therapy. 

Julia wanted the whole package and they needed to do something about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's scary how fast I'm writing this fic.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of the journey.

* * *

_Episode 7_

* * *

He needed to finish the job. That's clear amongst them all. This time they weren't taking any risks so they placed a tracker under the cloth of his pants. Just in case, Aikens decides to put him up in a vest and leave him in a wasteland. 

It was evening. If it was a normal day, he'd be back at the Blackwood enjoying wine and grapes beside Julia. Julia, not the Home Secretary, the one his heart currently beats for was probably dying of worry after that vest situation.

He hopes she'd understand. He always kept his promises. 

He scales the building in front of him. The corner suite that Chanel inhabited wasn't too hard to find after Angela created a dossier on her information. 

His problem? Infiltrating it.

There were several entrances and exit points guarded by private security. He was hoping either Patrick or Louise had information on guard changes so he could slip in and out in the cover of darkness. His phone silently notifies him of a message from Rayburn:

_No luck._

He sighed and changed the settings on his phone to silent so notifications wouldn't be so intrusive. Luckily, the guard leaves his post. It looks like it was a change of shift and he slips inside the building.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find after evading the guards to the elevator from there it was a straight unguarded path. He just needed to avoid the cameras carefully placed on nooks and corners.

The suite was illuminated by two lamps. One by the terrace and then the ones above her dining table after those the rest of the area was dark. Chanel wasn't home yet. According to their information, she should be back in a few minutes from the Manor he met her in for drinks. He sweeps the room much like what he does at Overstrand before resuming his position at a corner.

The locks click and she enters her suite. The keys clack as she puts them aside and so does her heels on the solid floor. Chanel slides the terrace door open and takes out a cig from her purse. 

David decides to make himself known. 

"That'll kill you." 

"Oh my God!" Chanel turns and exclaims in surprise to meet a cleaned up David Budd dressed in a buttoned shirt and jeans.

"So would a suicide vest." he bitterly replies standing in front of her, 

"Oh my God! You're okay." she gasps in surprise and he glares at her,

"Like you give a shit."

Chanel apologizes to him but he can't find it in himself to forgive her for what she's done. It was his life on the line just hours ago. It was something irreplaceable. 

"Cooperate. You'll get immunity, witness protection. You'll be out." he offers her with a cold stare, "I can't do that."

"You're going to phone Luke, tell him the inside man is going to talk." _Or woman. Not that they know that they know._

Luke's going to want to silence him _her_ and he's going to lead him straight to her. 

"Isn't Luke going to find that a bit suspicious?" she asks him but he points out.

"It's what you did to me."

* * *

They ride her car to the location. They see Aikens in the distance and discreetly follow the vehicle. The GPS leads them into a quiet neighborhood: a familiar one. He tells her to stay put in the car as he scopes the area.

Aikens gets out of his car to call out his boss: Lorraine Craddock, the inside woman.

He hears their conversation despite the distance. He was their fall guy. That's their plan but he was too good not to see through their schemes. He attacks Aiken's guard and takes the gun from the side of his pants. 

"On your knees! Hands on your head!" 

The scheming pair surprised at his appearance.

"Are you fucking joking?" 

He shoots.

Would he joke on killing them for National Security? No, he was not.

Craddock orders him to stand down but it doesn't work anymore. He doesn't work for a criminal or someone associated with such. His principles wouldn't allow it. He knew about them and that makes the man fall to his knees. 

"It's over." 

He tells his former superior to make the call and at first, she tries to talk him out of it but there was no talking needed anymore. 

"Chief Superintendent Craddock, I need a firearms unit to my home address right away, please."

* * *

In her office, she sits in the darkness as the live audio plays on her earphones. The Metropolitan Police was listening to David's confrontation since arriving at Dyson's apartment.

It was nerve-wracking.

Kim was guarding the exit to the floor despite the fact that they're the only ones left in the area. They were waiting for news about the arrest of Craddock and Aikens, their arrests could break the syndicate in London. They hear his voice, angry and betrayed, as he points the gun at them.

"He has them."

They breathe a sigh of relief.

* * *

They arrest Craddock and Aikens on many charges effectively rendering agents without a boss for the time being. Patrick and Angela greet him at SO15 with a well-needed hug. The rest of their crack team inside the building. The dossier on each laid out on a round table and pins on the board finally connecting to where they should be. 

The pair were placed in separate interrogation rooms on the orders of the Commander, to cross-examine and confirm their gathered data. 

"They tampered with the bullets in your apartment," Louise explains as he sat on the table inside the secure room. "Why didn't they just steal your gun?"

"I'd know that they'd be there," he explains and tries to grin but it felt weird,

"You did a good job, Skip."

The man guarding outside glances at them and then to the hall. They hear the clack of heels approaching and the guard immediately recognizes the person.

"Home Secretary." he greets the woman, their attention focuses on her. 

"If you'd give us a moment, DS Rayburn?" she asks her and nods to the guard to leave. "Of course, ma'am."

Louise closes the door as she exits and tells the guard to leave them be. There was a moment of silence between them before David stretched his arms out and then her facade breaks.

Julia embraces him tightly as tears make their way to her cheeks. She buries her face on the crook of his neck as she sobs. Her feelings breaking through the dam of self-composition that she put up.

"I'm right here, love," he reassures as her body trembles in his touch.

He kisses her forehead to hopefully put her at ease but the tears that were soaking through his jumper proved otherwise. Julia wept until no more tears came, and her heart feeling lighter after. 

Her head tilts up to glance at his injured face and she thought what a mess her makeup would be by now. David tilts his head to the side thoughtfully as she composed herself to say.

"David, this arrangement..." she breathes deeply, " is difficult with you being my PPO."

"I think it's for the best that changes." Julia found that she couldn't smile after the words and he nods,

_Oh, fuck, she doesn't want me anymore._ he thought and as he looks away wanting to cry but she cups his head to face her. Surprisingly, she rests her forehead against his, wrapped her arms tight around his neck to look him in the eyes, and says.

"I..." she pauses nervously, "I want you right beside me not because it's your job, but because it's our choice." 

Julia gives him a small smile before he unbelievably laughs. 

"I'll be by your side, love, in whatever capacity you'll have me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author has died from fluff. Just kidding. I wanted to end the chapter there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that I'm horrible at writing epilogues.

_Episode 8 - Epilogue_

* * *

_"Isn't there a guidebook for this?"_

Her exasperated voice echoes throughout the flat and he smiled amusingly. Julia was stuck in her closet, unable to decide what to wear for their first meeting with the kids. 

Thus, the dilemma she was facing. 

"You'd be fine in anything but your birthday suit, love." he teases and she pops her head to glare at him,

"David, they're your children I'd like them to like me," she tells him quite annoyed at the man, 

"If they're anything like me then they'll love you," he grins and her look softens, "I mean what's not to love?"

"I'm not their mother," she points out and he immediately answers, "You don't have to be. You can be the cool stepmom that buys or does things their mother won't allow them to."

Julia pouts and that amuses him because he'd expect it on his 10-year old daughter trying to get out of trouble not his 41 -year old girlfriend but they're both cute. She huffs and turns back to her closet to pick warm-colored clothes to shout.

"You are no help, no help at all!" 

* * *

They arrive at the flat Vicky and her new boyfriend, James was renting. It was closer to the school but not part of the area that was threatened during the bomb incident. The pair were leaving to visit James' parents in Nottingham so the kids were staying with him for the weekend. 

"Dave! don't forget Charlie's..." Vicky reminds as her boyfriend ushers her to their own vehicle, 

"Drive safe, Jim." he reminds, "Yeah, of course, Dave."

The younger Budds were standing in front of Julia, who was completely frozen, as Ella's bright inquisitive eyes glanced at her. On the other hand, Charlie held on tight to his sister's hand seeing the strange familiar woman.

"You're the one that was on the telly." Charlie shyly points out and she kneels down to their height, "Yeah, I'm Julia and you are?"

"I'm Charlie." he introduces himself as he nudges his sister, "this is my sister, Ella."

"Is it okay if I join you and your daddy today?" she glances at his children as he watches from her car eyes twinkling. That's when he knew she could handle them.

"Are we going to go in the big car?" he gestures to the one David had his back on as Ella stayed silent and hesitant. "Yeah," 

"Yeah, okay! Come on, Ella!" 

That's one out of two children then. 

* * *

Her security team thought ahead and found a children's park they could monitor from afar, not to interrupt the family time of the four. The men wearing civilian clothes, their wires concealed, and overall if people didn't observe too much they didn't look like security. 

"Julia, can you push my swing?" Charlie asks her and she happily obliges, "Of course,"

Charlie's small hand takes hers, nearly dragging her to the swing set, where his father and daughter were already doing what he wanted to be done to him. The children swing happily in the air and they grin at their shrieks of joy. 

Once they got bored of that, they went through all the fields of the grounds before becoming exhausted. If she was to report, it was mostly a success even if Ella was still wary of her. 

He left them in the kitchen to prepare for dinner because he made a disaster of the meat and was going to order it out but she, as well as Ella, were left to toss the salad. Ella was quiet as she handed the dressing to her before she closed the lid just as she was to toss the child spoke.

"You make Dad happy," Ella points out, "Do you love daddy?"

"I do love your daddy," she admits softly glancing at the doorway to see Charlie and David playing on the sofa, "very much."

_"Then that's all that matters."_

Ella continues to pour some dressing as she mixes it not knowing how the older woman was internally baffled on how she asked her about them, and how simple her answer was to it. 

David re-enters the kitchen as he hangs up on the telephone to look at his girls momentarily forgetting what he came there for.

_His girls._ God, that made his heart happy so much.

"David? Is there something you needed?" she asks as he stood there frozen,

"Oh! The food is going to take 45 minutes," he informs them as she reminds him of what he came there for,

"Okay," she hums and Ella hands him the salad, "Daddy, can you toss this please?"

"Of course, also your brother is preparing the living room for a movie. Help him aye?" he asks of her and she quickly bounces off but not before shouting,

"I call dibs to sit on Julia's left!" 


End file.
